Notes: The Spartans have won all four games so far in this five-game home stand. They beat Lipscomb, 83-71, on Thursday night with junior forward Jodd Maxey reaching career highs with 26 points, 13 rebounds and six blocks. … USC Upstate is in a three-way tie for first place with Florida Gulf Coast and Jacksonville. Preseason favorite Mercer is a half-game back and Stetson is a full game back. … Northern Kentucky, a newcomer to the league and ineligible for the championship, has won three straight games. The Norse took a 70-68 win Thursday night at East Tennessee State. That was their first win in five league games away from home. They also handled Kennesaw State and put a surprising whipping on Mercer, 63-46, last week in Highland Heights, Ky. … USC Upstate got a 60-54 win Jan. 5 at Northern Kentucky. Craig struggled to just six points and only had six shots. Fred Miller led the Spartans with 11 points off the bench. They were only 3-for-15 on 3-pointers but a perfect 19-for-19 at the foul line to seal the victory. That was USC Upstate's lowest score in a win this season. … Greene leads USC Upstate with 55 assists, but four other players are within six of him. Adrian Rodgers has 53, Maxey 51, Mario Blessing 50 and Ricardo Glenn 49. Craig, the second-leading scorer in the Atlantic Sun, has 43 assists. … USC Upstate is 8-2 at home this season. … Northern Kentucky's deliberate style has made it the No. 2 scoring defense in the league, 60.4 points per game allowed, but also the lowest-scoring offense at 57.7 per game.

Next: USC Upstate heads to Florida to face Stetson on Feb. 7 and Florida Gulf Coast on Feb. 9. Preseason league favorite Mercer comes to Spartanburg on Feb. 14, followed by another home game against Kennesaw State two days later.

<p class="bold allcaps">NORTHERN KENTUCKY at USC UPSTATE</p>
<p><b>When:</b> 5 p.m. Saturday</p><p><b>Where:</b> Hodge Center</p><p><b>Records:</b> Atlantic Sun Conference); USC Upstate (13-10, 7-3)</p><p><b>Radio:</b> 1400 AM, 97.1 FM</p><p><b>Top scorers: Northern Kentucky —</b> Eshaunte Jones (15.2 ppg.); Jalen Billips (10.3 ppg., 5.7 rpg.); Chad Jackson (9.0 ppg., 5.2 rpg.). <b>USC Upstate —</b> Jr. F Torrey Craig (17.0 ppg., 6.8 rpg.); So. G Ty Greene (13.0 ppg.); Jr. F Ricardo Glenn (9.8 ppg., 8.2 rpg.)</p><p><b>Notes:</b> The Spartans have won all four games so far in this five-game home stand. They beat Lipscomb, 83-71, on Thursday night with junior forward Jodd Maxey reaching career highs with 26 points, 13 rebounds and six blocks. … USC Upstate is in a three-way tie for first place with Florida Gulf Coast and Jacksonville. Preseason favorite Mercer is a half-game back and Stetson is a full game back. … Northern Kentucky, a newcomer to the league and ineligible for the championship, has won three straight games. The Norse took a 70-68 win Thursday night at East Tennessee State. That was their first win in five league games away from home. They also handled Kennesaw State and put a surprising whipping on Mercer, 63-46, last week in Highland Heights, Ky. … USC Upstate got a 60-54 win Jan. 5 at Northern Kentucky. Craig struggled to just six points and only had six shots. Fred Miller led the Spartans with 11 points off the bench. They were only 3-for-15 on 3-pointers but a perfect 19-for-19 at the foul line to seal the victory. That was USC Upstate's lowest score in a win this season. … Greene leads USC Upstate with 55 assists, but four other players are within six of him. Adrian Rodgers has 53, Maxey 51, Mario Blessing 50 and Ricardo Glenn 49. Craig, the second-leading scorer in the Atlantic Sun, has 43 assists. … USC Upstate is 8-2 at home this season. … Northern Kentucky's deliberate style has made it the No. 2 scoring defense in the league, 60.4 points per game allowed, but also the lowest-scoring offense at 57.7 per game. </p><p><b>Next:</b> USC Upstate heads to Florida to face Stetson on Feb. 7 and Florida Gulf Coast on Feb. 9. Preseason league favorite Mercer comes to Spartanburg on Feb. 14, followed by another home game against Kennesaw State two days later.</p>